India grapples with persistent water scarcity, sweltering heat, and power cuts
India has been confronting a series of challenges recently, with the past few months particularly testing the nation's resilience.
The country has been grappling with deadly heatwaves, acute water shortages, and persistent electricity blackouts.
For instance, this week, it was reported that Delhi, India's capital, is experiencing an intense heatwave, pushing the power demand to an unprecedented high of 8,647 megawatts (MW). Weather experts report that temperatures have been sizzling at around 44-45°C across parts of northern India for several weeks.
The scorching temperatures have led to a surge in the use of cooling devices like air conditioners, which in turn has strained the power supply, resulting in frequent electricity cuts throughout Delhi.
Just this Tuesday, the capital set a new record for power consumption, just one day after the broader northern region of India reached a peak power usage of 89,000 MW. Earlier in the season, on May 22, Delhi's power demand first surpassed 8,000 MW. Adding to the woes, the city's airport recently experienced a power failure that lasted several minutes, disrupting operations at the terminals.
Moreover, Delhi is facing a critical water shortage. Social media is awash with videos of residents clamouring around water trucks, buckets in hand, desperate for a supply. The weather department has warned that the heatwave blanketing northern India shows no signs of abating in the coming days.
Since March, when the summer began, there have been numerous fatalities due to heat-related illnesses. In the first week of June alone, over 50 people succumbed to the heat within just three days in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Odisha. The ongoing crisis underscores the severe environmental and infrastructural challenges India must address.
